Fogarty Ready to Fill Cherry-Evans’ Boots at Manly
The Manly Sea Eagles are gearing up for a new era in their halves, with Jamal Fogarty set to don the iconic No. 7 jersey. While Fogarty is no stranger to the maroon and white colours from his time with Burleigh in the Queensland Cup, the transition for the Sea Eagles faithful from watching Daly Cherry-Evans, a club legend, will undoubtedly take some adjustment.
Manly’s strategic move to sign Fogarty on a three-year deal last May came shortly after Cherry-Evans’ surprising announcement that he would depart the club at the conclusion of the 2025 season. This has naturally sparked widespread discussion about Fogarty’s ability to step into the shoes of the man who has steered Manly’s attack for an impressive 15 years.
Fogarty, however, addressed these concerns head-on last December, acknowledging the immense legacy of his predecessor. “He’s probably the greatest half to play for the club and put that jersey on,” Fogarty stated at the time. “That’s something I’ve got to respect and acknowledge, but also I’m not as talented as Daly, and I’m going to be Jamal. I’m not going to try and be him.”
The spotlight on the club’s veteran playmakers is set to intensify when the Sydney Roosters visit Brookvale in round four. For now, Fogarty’s focus is squarely on his immediate challenge: taking on his former club, the Canberra Raiders, in a highly anticipated Saturday night clash. Fogarty played a crucial role in the Raiders’ minor premiership victory last year, but his attention is now firmly on leading his new Manly squad.
“It’s obviously great to get it out of the way round one,” Fogarty commented on the prospect of facing his old team. “I’ve said before, it’s good to get it out of the way because then I can crack on with my season. Obviously, everyone in the media is going to keep asking about it, and if it was round 15 or mid-season, then that would kind of be annoying. So, it’s kind of good to get it out of the way. And with the banter side of things, I’m not someone that sends cheeky text messages or chirps up on the field. I kind of just stick to myself and go about it.”
Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold has noted that Fogarty brings a more structured approach to the halves compared to Cherry-Evans. Seibold expressed his satisfaction with Fogarty’s pre-season performances. “Any time you come up against your former side, there’s going to be media speculation around that,” Seibold said. “Jamal did a hell of a job for the Raiders over the last four years, and I’m sure they’ve got great memories of his impact at the club and his leadership on and off the field because we’ve certainly seen it. We only gave him limited minutes in the trial, but he’s been working really hard at training to build cohesion. It’s probably a good thing for him to get it out of the road.”
Fogarty had his first run in the Manly No. 7 jersey during a trial match against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Mudgee last month. He described the experience as a valuable stepping stone before the official season commences.
“Obviously, putting on maroon and white is different to lime green, but it was a good feeling putting it on,” Fogarty shared. “Running out felt very different, but good to get that out of the way in the trial. And I’ve just felt welcome the whole time since I’ve come here. I’m used to the maroon and white; my Queensland Cup team wore those colours, so I’m kind of used to it, just not at an NRL level. I’m enjoying my time here so far; it’s a great bunch of dudes around the club that have been very welcoming. The coaching staff have been the same, and all the admin people upstairs, so it’s been an enjoyable move so far.”
The experienced playmaker acknowledged the pressure that younger halves, Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large, would exert if his own performance faltered. However, Fogarty believes he can alleviate this pressure by establishing a strong combination with his new five-eighth, Luke Brooks, from the outset.
Fogarty is content to be the primary controlling half, allowing Brooks to express his attacking prowess on the left edge. “We’ve had some great moments here at training, and there’s always going to be areas that we need to work on and keep improving,” Fogarty said. “But he’s someone that’s played over 250 NRL games,’s got a great running game, a nice left-foot kicking game, so the more that we can link up as much as possible and just keep bouncing off each other throughout the year, hopefully, we can win a couple of games along the way and have a good season.”
